Page 183 - Sustainability Communication Interdisciplinary Perspectives and Theoritical Foundations

166 C. Herzig and S. Schaltegger

Consequences for Sustainability Communication

Our overview of the history of corporate sustainability reporting and the development
of approaches to improve sustainability reporting suggests that this field of sustain-
ability communication is characterised as an ever-changing and dynamic corporate
response to different societal challenges and information needs and the expectations
of various stakeholders. Both theoretical motivations and actual challenges in sustain-
ability reporting have been discussed. A large range of approaches to overcome pro-
blems in sustainability reporting has also been considered, often emphasising the role
of external bodies in defining reporting expectations and requirements. This overview
shows that there is an increasingly dense network of national and international repor-
ting standards, codes, guidelines and legislation.
However, bringing organisational performance and reporting in line with external
requirements is not sufficient for exploring the full potential contribution of compa-
nies to sustainable development. Guidelines, standards, ratings as well as auditing and
verification processes may well provide assistance for management in designing cor-
porate sustainability reports, but systematically linking corporate strategy, informa-
tion management and reporting activities from an outside-in as well as an inside-out
perspective is an important prerequisite to effective reporting. As long as companies
do not explain how they identify, analyse and manage those aspects of their business
that are most relevant to making a contribution to sustainable development and corpo-
rate strategy, while also responding to external expectations and reporting on all of
these issues, sustainability reporting still carries a risk in being seen as green washing
or a public relations exercise aiming to solely improve corporate reputation.
To avoid the impression that sustainability reporting is used as a public relations
tool to mask companies’ actual socially and ecologically unsustainable practices,
companies need to engage with stakeholders through ‘true’ dialogue (Bebbington
et al. 2007). In this chapter the actual and potential role of the Internet in engaging
with stakeholders through online relationships and dialogue, and using the technical
features of the Web to learn about stakeholders’ views, expectations and informa-
tion needs was discussed. There is, however, a variety of forms of stakeholder
engagement that can create and support ‘responsible’ stakeholder communication
(Crane and Livesey 2003; Unerman 2007).
Finally, the challenges and developments considered above suggest that there is
great pressure on corporate actors who are involved in sustainability reporting, going
beyond important knowledge about external rating and assessment schemes, evalua-
tion criteria and sustainability trends in the media. A well-managed, interdisciplinary
team-based process seems to be required, one that involves different departments,
external stakeholders and possibly communication agencies, as well as diverse com-
petencies in identifying the sustainability issues that are most relevant to both the
company and society. Likewise, communicating these issues in a comprehensible
way and integrating sustainability reporting with other sustainability communication
media and the company’s more general corporate communications concept appears
to be vital if sustainability communication is to move to a higher level.